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Re: Concern about pumping

Hi mama, what is the reason you want to start pumping, and what is the reason for the bottle? Will you be going back to work, or will there be some other separation from baby?

Your breast is never empty. Even if you've just pumped, there is still milk in there. Maybe less than there would be if you hadn't just pumped - in which case baby will spend longer at the breast. My strategy for this - when I was building up my supply of milk in the fridge for going back to work - was to pump immediately after a morning nursing session, when I had the most milk.

If you're just trying a bottle for the first time, you'll want to only put a small amount of milk in the bottle - an ounce for example. Once baby has tasted the milk, it doesn't have to be discarded immediately, but it's shelf life does go down. Here's a link for more information about breastmilk storage and handling: http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/m...e/milkstorage/. However, keep in mind that it isn't necessary to always adhere exactly to these guidelines. Breastmilk is a food, so use common sense as you would for any other food. In this case, if baby refuses one bottle, it's fine to put the milk back in the fridge, then pour it into a different bottle and try again. But you wouldn't necessarily want to repeat that over and over again, so that's the reason for only putting a limited amount in to begin with.

Re: Concern about pumping

I would like to start going back to the gym or out with friends and leave baby with my partner and we are going away for a night when he's 4 months so need to leave my mum some breast milk to feed him with.